Author: pvbella

“This is a gun-crime crisis,” Brown told reporters who pressed him on his strategy going into the summer, typically the most violent time in the city.” We are awash in guns.”

“…young people have been “fussing and fighting since the beginning of time,” and the only difference now is that too many of them are settling their differences with a gun.” (Mayor Lori Lightfoot/Sun-Times)

I just can’t do it anymore. I listened to part of Chicago Superintendent of Police David “Tex” Brown’s presser about the mass shooting at Chicago and State Street Thursday night. I could not take the nonsense and lies of the mumbling, stumbling, bumbling, and rambling. I cannot listen to or read about Mayor Lori Lightfoot anymore. She is another babbler of nonsense.

Lightfoot and Brown do not inspire confidence. They do not have a handle on the rampant violence in Chicago. Brown has an excuse, his incompetence. Lightfoot has no excuse as she should have fired Brown long ago. Lightfoot is the mayor. She wears the hat. She cannot escape the blame, accountability, or responsibility. She is not even good at ducking them.

“We were already supposed to have fixed posts in place at Chicago & State. So, huh?” the alderperson tweeted. “City Council needs to step in & demand accountability. Their strategy is failing us miserably.” (Ald. Brendan Reilly/Sun-Times/Emphasis mine)

The alderman is only partially correct. All “Tex” Brown’s plans, strategies, and deployments are miserable failures. He is a miserable failure. He was a miserable failure from day one. The only public safety policy, plan, strategy, and deployment in Chicago is that failure is an option, the only option.

New York City has had three mass shootings so far this year, and Los Angeles has had two, but Chicago –despite a smaller population than both of those cities – has already had 10... …Overall during the last three years, Chicago has gone from 33 mass shootings in 2019, to 53 in 2020, to 60 in 2021. (CBS Chicago)

Lightfoot and Brown ran out of excuses. There is no plan, strategy, or anything else on public safety. No number of pressers or hype by the news media can demonstrate that Brown is competent and knowledgeable. He is just another hack mercenary police executive from someplace else cashing in on the big kachingo$.

Lightfoot’s rollback of the city curfew is a cheap publicity stunt. Teens do not care about curfews. Young people will do what they want, when they want, and where they want. There are not enough police officers to enforce such a ridiculous stunt.

Brown lost control of the city. The news media is mute on his incompetence. Lori Lightfoot lost control of the city. The news media rarely, if ever, criticizes her. The Chicago news media should be forced to file in-kind donations with the Illinois Board of Elections for all the free publicity they give City Hall.

I was a police officer for almost 30 years. I worked in some of the most dangerous and violent areas in Chicago. I never saw it this bad. Chicago is almost a dystopian city. The violence is out of control in every neighborhood. Innocent people are being wounded and killed. More teens and even tweens are arming themselves. No one is safe in Chicago. Every citizen in this city is a potential innocent victim of violence.

The criminal element has no fear of repercussions by the criminal justice system. The system is irreparably broken. It was broken intentionally by our elected officials, Chicago Machine Boss, Toni Preckwinkle, and her mini-me minion, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. Their so-called criminal justice reform is an abject failure. Worse, they refuse to acknowledge their policy failures. They, too, have blood on their hands. Politicians never admit they are wrong. When policies fail, they double and triple down instead of reversing course.

How many murders must be committed before the people of Chicago say enough is enough? How many more lies by elected officials and their PR weasels in the news media must people believe before Chicagoans demand better? When are the people going to say enough is enough?

Since the elected officials and Police Superintendent refuse to reverse course and crackdown, it is up to us. I said it before and will keep saying it. We need to hold the elected official’s feet to the fire. We need to make a big noise. We need to put ice-cold fear in their hearts- if they have one- that their jobs are in peril.

The problem is not “gun violence.” There is no such thing. Guns are inanimate objects. “Gun violence” is a made-up term to excuse the real problem- human beings. The correct term is human violence. “Gun violence” is a lie, the big lie.

The problem is not guns, drugs, gangs, and COVID. The problem is people- teens, tweens, and adults, who do not believe the laws apply to them. People who know there will be no repercussions for their crimes. The problem is elected officials and appointees who enable them through flawed policy decisions favoring criminality over public safety.

There should be a hue and cry for Mayor Lightfoot to fire the stumbling, mumbling, bumbling, rambling cowpoke from Texas. Send him back there on his high horse. He should be replaced with someone who knows this city and the neighborhoods. Someone who will appoint staff with the same knowledge. Someone who cares about the city more than just the big bucks.

Lightfoot, Brown, Preckwinkle, Foxx, and their PR allies in the news media think the public is dumb enough to believe all the lies they tell, justifying their failures. If people do not demand better, they will prove that deadly quartet right.

“As a Millennial, I have lived through three economic recessions, a terrorist attack that killed over three thousand Americans, two overseas wars that were started when I was still in grade school, a global pandemic that our Boomer-run government was completely unprepared to deal with, three of the four presidential impeachment trials ever held in American history, and an attempted overthrow of the government in defiance of an election result.

Meanwhile, the generation before mine came of age during one of the most prosperous economic booms of the postwar era (and wouldn’t shut up about how depressed and aimless they felt during that time), and the generation before them grew up under material comforts unimaginable to kings and emperors fifty years prior.” (Robert H./Comment on Facebook)

You would think these Millennial mamalukes and Gen Z mooks would come up with something original. Instead, like our hyperventilating news media, they copy and paste whatever bullshit they come across on social media. I saw the above quote more times than I want to remember.

Mr. H. is one of the people I would like to punch in the throat several times. He and his band of 21 to late 30-somethings have no idea what they are talking about when they criticize the Baby Boom Generation and the generation before. They make shit up to fit their imaginary current situation. Someone must be blamed for their angst and anxiety.

Mr. H.’s generation does not think. They feel. They are pissed off because their feelings override what little intelligence they possess.

Mr. H. was the beneficiary of living with “material comforts unimaginable to kings and emperors.” He grew up in prosperity, and now, like the Boomers he despises, he will not shut up about how “aimless and depressed” he is.

Why does this bratzilla hate his Boomer parents and grandparents? What horrors did they inflict on him to spout such bullshit? His parents must be devastated how their crotch beachball turned out.

As a Boomer, I can attest that Mr. H. is as full of shit as a Christmas goose. Our grandparents and parents did not grow up “…under material comforts unimaginable to kings and emperors fifty years prior.” On the contrary, our grandparents worked hard to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. They survived WWI, a worldwide pandemic, the Great Depression, and WWII through hard work and ingenuity. They did not complain about the past over and over again.

Many Boomers fought and died in Viet Nam and the current perpetual wars waged since 2001. Mr. H. did not fight in those wars that started when he was a child. So how the fuck did he suffer? How did he suffer a terrorist attack as a child? Was he in the Twin Towers?

We did not see whatever prosperity Mr. H. is dreaming about. Our parents worked in blue-collar jobs to provide for their families. They navigated strikes and lay-offs with no pay. There were recessions. Somehow the bills got paid. Mr. H. confuses comfort with prosperity. We, like he and his parents, lived comfortable lives. Most of our families did not see the wealth that prosperity brings.

We did not have all the glitzy toys Mr. H. and future generations have stacked up in basements, garages, and storage lockers. Our parents worked hard for what they earned, earned being the operative word.

Many of us went to work as early as twelve years old. We did every kind of job imaginable to earn some money. There were no handouts. People like Mr. H. expect to have the whole world handed to them on a silver platter. They were devastated when internships were not given to them.

Oh, the horror and suffering Mr. H. went through. Terrorist attacks, wars, and the global pandemic. Was he raised living on the streets of war-torn Simpsonistan? Did he navigate mortar rounds, IEDs, and snipers while walking to and from school uphill both ways? Was he dodging capture, torture, or catching COVID while foraging for food on the way home?

Add to that the impeachments and attempted overthrow of the American government. They damaged Mr. H.’s already fragile psyche, especially since many, if not most, of the chromosomal mutants who stormed the Capitol were millennials, just like him. His pain must be unending.

These spoiled bratzillas constantly complain about the Boomer generation ruining their lives. All is woe is me, poor me, me, me. They create total horseshit to excuse their laziness, lack of job skills, and general lack of knowing how things work and navigating life. Schools do not teach those skills. Mr. H., his generation, and cohorts in Gen Z demand change, yet they cannot change a lightbulb.

The sad thing is too many supposedly educated, and intelligent people believe this horseshit. I know many older millennials. They are well-rounded individuals. They have life and work skills. They did not “suffer” all the horrors Mr. H. claims. They did what responsible adults do, improvise, adapt, and overcome. They did not let their feelings override their intelligence.

Robert H. is responsible for his travails. Not the Boomers, not the government, terrorists, or combat military personnel. He is. If he wants to wallow in self-pity, he can. No one is to blame but him. He can keep his bullshit to himself.

A word of avuncular advice to these whiny little puss heads. Cowboy the fuck up. Start acting like an adult instead of a bitchy teenager who needs a hard slap in the face and a solid kick in the ass.

There have been mass gatherings in various downtown places on weekend nights. The Bean in Millennium Park is an attraction for the large groups of young people having a night on the town. Unfortunately, these gatherings erupt in violence.

There is only one thing to do. According to the new Chicago Way, if a public art piece is controversial and may lead to violent acts, it should be removed to a secret location known only to the Great Comedian.

To prevent violence and protect police officers, the Bean should be removed and stashed out of sight and mind. Problem solved.

The same holds true for certain businesses that are a magnet for masses of young people where violence breaks out. The McDonald’s on Chicago and State is one. It is next to a CTA El station, making it easy for young people to get there. Last night there was a mass shooting there, leaving 2 dead and 8 wounded. The restaurant should be immediately closed by the city and demolished. It could be turned into a pigeon sanctuary or the city’s first cat park.

If there are more problems at North Avenue Beach or any other beaches, they should all be shut down. The city could create the Chicago Shoreline Protection Agency to preserve and bring the Lake Michigan shore back to its natural state- as close as possible. It should be designated an environmentally endangered and protected area. Humans will not be allowed access.

If the Picasso in Daley Plaza becomes a magnet for the masses and violence breaks out, it too should be removed. Shuttered off to the city’s Never-Never land of public art.

These measures are the same theory behind the removal of public art. If something causes so much offense or anger that violence erupts, it should be removed or closed off to the public. It is for the common good. Lives will be saved. Citizens, police officers, and fire personnel will not be injured. Innocent members of the public will not be potential victims of violence.

Those were the reasons for the removal or potential removal of statues of famous people. Anger, offense, and violence, or the potential of violence, caused the city to rethink its commemorative public art. The same reasoning can and should be used for the mass gatherings where violence erupts.

It is more than obvious that something about the objects or places incites people to anger and violence. There is no human problem here. The objects or areas are the problems. The solution, get rid of or repurpose them.

In the interest of public safety, Mayor Lightfoot should act immediately and start removing or shutting down these dangerous objects or places. The mantra of “Guns, Drugs, Gangs, and COVID” as the drivers of violence should include public art and other sites that drive violence. The city cannot blame and control humans or stop the flow of illegal firearms. It is common sense to control access to areas or remove objects driving the violence. A simple solution to a simple problem.

“It’s like my soul left my body,” said Chanell Holliday during a visit with classmates of her son. He was fatally shot on Saturday near The Bean.  …Chanell Holliday has barely slept since her 16-year-old son Seandell was shot to death in Millennium Park on Saturday, ripping her world apart and sending the city of Chicago into a tailspin. (WBEZ)

It is every parent’s nightmare—the death of a child. The membership in a club no one wants to join, and no one is welcomed. Chanell Holliday is the newest member of that club. Her 16-year-old son, Sandell, was murdered at Millennium Park over the weekend. He was shot and killed by another teen.

Seandell Holliday is now a nameless, faceless victim. He is just another piece of a data set to be analyzed by the research pornographers and experts with no expertise. The hormonal teenagers in the news media will use the data porn to prove something or other positive about crime, hyping for City Hall. A City Hall that needs all the hype it can get.

We saw this before. We will keep seeing this—children, from infants to teens, being murdered. Parents are living their worst nightmares. And a cold-hearted city doing little to stem the rampant violence plaguing every neighborhood.

“Because this is hard. This is so hard for me.” (Chanell Holliday/WBEZ)

The words of a mother in mourning.  How many more children will be murdered in Chicago before City Hall wakes from its wet dream of a “Summer of Joy?” When will elected officials in this city rise from their somnolence and realize there will be no joy in Chicago this summer? There will only be more mourning and grief. More nightmares.

2022 will be another Summer of Murder. A Summer of Grief and Mourning. A City Hall that is asleep at the wheel.

When will the people of this city of silence start making noise? A noise so loud it is heard around the world. There is only one thing politicians care about. Only one thing that will force them to do something. A big noise. A noise so loud it puts fear into their merciless, pitiless, cold hearts. A sonic boom noise that makes them quake in fear of losing their six-figure jobs with Rolls Royce perks and benefits.

As long as the public is silent, elected officials will do nothing. Oh, they will talk. Talk is cheap, like the cheap suit politicians. The lies must stop. The cover-ups must stop. City Hall has been covering up for Chicago Police Superintendent David “Tex” Brown’s total incompetence since day one.

No matter what we think about past mayors, not one of them would tolerate this constant citywide violence. They all would have done something, including holding the Chicago Police leadership accountable. Heads would roll and keep rolling until the surges in violence were curbed and mitigated.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot ran on a platform of transparency and accountability. She rules through secrecy with zero accountability. No one is held responsible, including her. No one knows what she is doing.

All Lightfoot has left is the news media which keeps throwing her life rings. Ring after ring, excuse after excuse, lie after lie. When those fail, they quote the experts with no expertise to keep their narrative alive. 

Summer begins on June 21^st. If you citizens do not rise up now and demand better, there will be no Summer of Joy. There will only be a summer of death.

I do not know who is worse, the f**ktard fribbles at TimeOut Chicago or the birds**t brains at Chicago Magazine. If someone gave them copies of the Kama Sutra, they would pull out crayons and color in the images. Whenever I read their advice, I want to commit seppuku with a broken jagged-edged beer bottle.

Chicago Magazine’s latest advice column is a new low in absolute idiocy. The title of this pile of horse sh**t? “Don’t be a FIP! Five unmistakable signs you’re not actually from Michigan” FIP meaning F**cking Illinois People. All the adjoining states label Illinoisans as FIPs. We label others as F**king Cheese heads, F**king Hoosiers, etc.

This piece of what my dog used to leave behind advises what people from Chicago should not do while visiting Southwestern Michigan. It is inane and asinine. First, SW Michigan has been an exurb of Chicago for several decades. Many Chicagoans have vacation homes or moved there. Some commute daily by train to the city to work. It is part and parcel of what is known as Chicagoland.

Second, no one goes to Michigan to pretend to be from there. People go on vacation for one reason, R&R- rest and recreation. They want to have fun. They do not go to blend in with the locals or pretend to be something other than they are. Michiganders only care about one thing. How much dinero are you going to leave there?

What are Chicago Magazine’s ways of identifying FIPS?

Driving a foreign car: No one in Michigan cares what make of cars tourists drive.  They can tell who you are by the license plates. Michiganders drive foreign cars, trucks, and farm equipment. It is evident the author of this nonsense, Edward McClelland, never visited Michigan or any place else. He should get out of mommy and daddy’s basement once in a while.

Owning a beach house: Many of the beach houses in SW Michigan are owned by people from Illinois, especially Chicago. Why does owning a beach home imply you are pretending to be from Michigan? Maybe McClelland should put the bong down or lay off the magic mushrooms.

Wearing a Stray Dog T-shirt: The Stray Bar sells souvenir T-shirts. They are meant to be worn. They do not imply anything except that you visited the bar and bought a T-shirt. Just like people come here and purchase souvenir T-shirts- TO F**KING WEAR THEM.

Jogging on the beach at sunset: According to this less-on (Lower than a moron), outdoor pursuits in Michigan are only hunting and fishing. Talk about overly precious privileged toxic stereotyping. Oh, and of course, he, like his lowlife ilk, had to get in a dig about billionaires. “Penny Pritzker and her husband trained for the Chicago Marathon at their Harbor Country getaway.”

Mispronouncing Michigan locales: This base snipe product of bonobos does not know that people will constantly mispronounce the names of places. Hell, most people in Chicago do not know the proper pronunciation of Goethe Street or other places.

If this was intended as a humor piece, it fails. Aside from its pretentious stereotyping, there are too many people in Chicago dumb enough to take this tripe seriously. Need proof? Look who they vote for and keep voting for.

Anyone who believes anything these two comic rags write should be institutionalized and placed on psychotropic drugs until cured. The writers of these two magazines continually make up stuff knowing the rubes and bark chewers in Chicago will believe it. They know that people who read these publications are way dumber than they are.

Do you feel it, Chicago? Spring sprung late and is turning into summer. Do you feel it? Do you feel the joy? Does Mayor Lightfoot’s proclamation of the Summer of Joy envelope you in joy?

A person is shot every 3 minutes in Chicago. Oh, joy. Joy to the World! The weather will usher in another summer of rampant violence. It is already beginning. Large gatherings at Millennium Park and spilling into the Loop created violent outbursts and shootings. Two people were killed downtown over the weekend.

Lightfoot proclaimed a curfew. People under 18 years of age will not be allowed in the park after 6 PM Thursday through Sunday unless accompanied by an adult. Chicago Police Superintendent David “Tex” Brown proclaimed his usual mumbling word soup and salad. Yeah, I can feel the joy. Oh boy, joy. This mayor and police superintendent know nothing about teenagers. You cannot tell them, especially organized groups, that they cannot do something. Guess what? They are going to do it.

“Incensed by the “senseless upcharge” at Starbucks for nondairy milk, “Succession” and “Babe” actor James Cromwell and other members of PETA, where he serves as an honorary director, staged a protest Tuesday at a Midtown Manhattan location of the coffee chain.” (Washington Post)

We have a new group of whiners and crybabies demanding equity. The vegan community is upset that nut-based milk costs more in their specialized drinks at Starbucks than dairy-based, a “senseless upcharge.” They demand milk equity. Paying more for nut-based milk is a violation of something or other. It is the new civil rights issue. The alphabet community, PETA, is behind the move.

Nut-based milk costs more to produce than dairy. Starbucks pays more for the product, so the consumer pays more. That is how economics works. There are always smug ignorant people who think they should receive special treatment. Are they going to demand stores drop the prices for nut-based milk to accommodate them? These are over-privileged precious people. If they can afford to buy anything at Starbucks, they can well afford to pay a little extra for their oh-so-special milk.

I am demanding equity. I do not drink coffee because I like it. I need it. My therapist, Dr. O. Reo, prescribed I drink coffee throughout the day to control my violent tendencies. Coffee prevents me from becoming a serial killer of the pestiferous members of the human species who make my daily life miserable. My health insurance should pay for my coffee. I demand free coffee. I do not have an alphabet community like PETA to support me in my quest for caffeine equity.

 I have an idea to reduce wounds and murders from Chicago’s violence. The city should procure and issue free bulletproof vests to all citizens who request one. The city could purchase the vests with donations from citizens, especially wealthy citizens. Corporations should donate, too, as this initiative will positively impact their employees. Since the city cannot or will not control and mitigate the violence, the least it can do is give the citizens some chance of survival.

When I was in Forensic Services, I had to take a few days of in-service training at the Chicago Police Academy. The F.B.I taught the course. It was an advanced crime scene processing course.

After each scenario, it would take 20-30 minutes to reset the various crime scenes, so there were many breaks. I watched the new recruits go through a red man role-playing exercise during one of these periods.

The red man was an instructor wearing a stuffed red rubberized suit that made him look like the Michelin Tire Man. These classes were real-world training and hilarious to watch.

The role playroom was narrow and had a long rectangular window so others could watch their fellow recruits try to solve problems. This exercise was to convince an angry, loud drunken bar patron to leave. The scenario was the bartender called the police to get the patron out. The red man/patron was about six foot two and well over 200 lbs. He looked like a giant in the suit.

The object of the game was to convince the red man to leave. That was it. Just get him out of the bar. The recruits were armed with red plastic training pistols and rolled-up newspapers as nightsticks.

The recruits would go in, one by one. The red man would wave his hands frantically and yell at the top of his lungs. One short Black female officer walked in, got yelled at, and “shot” him.

Others immediately went to the nightsticks, even though the red man did nothing but yell at the top of his lungs and wave his hands around. A few ran out and pretended to call for help.

The lead instructor was a sergeant. We worked together for a while, some years before he was promoted. He asked if I could show the recruits how it’s done.

 I started to walk through the door. The recruits offered me guns and newspaper nightsticks. I turned them down. I had a real gun and did not need a nightstick, especially a paper one.

When I walked in the door, the red man yelled at the top of his lungs, “All I want is just one more fucking drink, one more fucking drink, and I will leave. One more fucking drink.” He was waving his hands wildly.

I yelled louder, “Shut the fuck up, asshole.”

I talked to the bartender/instructor. He played the role, saying the guy was too drunk and he would not serve him anymore because of his behavior. I asked him if he wanted the guy gone. Being a typical smart ass, he said, “What the fuck do you think I called the cops for.”

I turned to the red man.

“One more drink and you are gone, right.”

“Yeah, just one more fucking drink, he yelled at the top of his lungs.”

“OK.”

I reached into my pocket, pretended to pull some money out, and threw it on the bar. “Get my new friend one more drink.”

The bartender/instructor pretended to pour a drink and put it in front of the red man.

Before the red man could grab it, I slid the glass towards me. I turned and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him down so I could whisper in his ear. I said what I wanted to say, then slid the glass to him. He drank it and pretended to stagger out of the bar. Then, he pretended to trip while walking out, giving me a body slam, just to be a wise ass.

The recruits were all wide-eyed and agog. The sergeant asked me if I had time to come into the classroom and tell the recruits how I got the red man out. I had about fifteen minutes left, so I went to the classroom.

The sergeant told the class the game’s object was to convince the red man to leave the bar. It appears I did that. Then he asked if they had questions. They had accusations.

One recruit told me I broke the rules, regulations, policies and procedures by buying the red man a drink. I asked him where is it written that I could not buy anyone a drink in a bar while on duty. I reminded him that the only person I could not buy a drink for was myself. Hell, I could buy the whole bar a drink as long as I did not buy one for myself and drink it.

Another said I should not have gone into the bar unarmed. I raised my tee shirt and showed him my real gun. Another was concerned about my yelling and using inappropriate language, which got a laugh from the instructors.

I told them that the uniforms they wear are expensive. Getting into a bar fight with a drunk and rolling on the floor would mean spending hard-earned money to repair or replace shirts and pants. Plus, the trip to the emergency room was not worth it. “Been there, done that. I was young and stupid once.”

I pointed at the Black female recruit. “He yelled at you, and you shot him. Guess what? You are going to prison. All those who beat him with the nightsticks will get suspended or fired. All the guy did was yell at you. Geez, if you can’t take shit here, how are you going to take it in the real world on the street.”

Finally, one recruit asked me the right question. He asked what I said in the red man’s ear.

I responded, “Ask him.”

The red man blushed. Then, he said that the object was to convince him to leave the bar, convince being the operative word.

“It was not what he said but how he said it. It was like an evil sneer. After that, I had no doubt I was leaving that bar. “Drink your drink. If you do not walk out after that, I will break every fucking bone in your body twice. I did not doubt he would do it.”

After a few more questions, I went back to my class. Later in the day, I ran into the sergeant and the red man. We had a good laugh. The red man had a similar background to the sergeant and mine. Working in the rough and tumble dangerous areas.

The sergeant offered me a position teaching tactics. I told him I am all about money. The pay cut would impact my life.   

“There’s always going to be dangerous drivers, distracted drivers and blind spots. We need infrastructure that slows traffic down and prevents people from running over cyclists,” Whitehouse said. “It just feels like it’s just like one right after the other.” (Bike Lane Uprising founder Christina Whitehouse/Block Club Chicago)

Correction: There will always be dangerous, distracted cyclists and blind spots. We need to hold them accountable to protect them from themselves and to protect pedestrians and dog walkers.

There are reckless drivers. They are held accountable for their recklessness. There are reckless pedestrians. It is surprising in this city that they are not slaughtered on a mass scale by responsible cyclists and drivers. There are reckless cyclists. They are never held accountable. If killed or seriously injured, they are held up as holy martyrs. Why? They are a community. Communities get to make their own rules, and the rest of us must cater to them.

I wrote about my disdain for cyclists before. They are whiny terrorist crybabies. If they did not blatantly violate traffic laws and the laws of physics, I would have a modicum of empathy for those injured or killed. As long as too many act like one, two, or three-wheeled terrorists riding their weapons of mass pedestrian destruction, I will continue to demean them and their so-called “community.” Yesterday, I saw one weebling and wobbling in heavy traffic with his phone plastered to his face while trying to control his bike with one hand. Like drivers, cyclists should be forbidden to use phones while riding. They should be cited and heavily fined. I am tired of almost being run down on sidewalks or by cyclists refusing to stop at STOP signs.

If the cycling advocates criticized the lawbreaking and reckless cyclists in their “community,” I would take a different tone. Cyclists will get no empathy, pity, mercy, or support if they tolerate recklessness and the city ignores it. I will not be an ally.

The cycling “community” is the new distressed, disenfranchised victims of systemic institutionalized something or other. They are the new alphabet people, the UNIBITRI+ Community. Will they have their own flag? How about slogans- Bike Pride? Bike Lives Matter? Say it loud, we bike, and we’re proud?

Will the UNIBITRI+ community create new words denoting prejudice and hatred? Bikism, cyclistism, pedalism, bike phobia, cyclistphobic, etc. Will people who disagree with their unreasonable demands will be labeled as ists, phobic, and haters? The Great Comedian forbid they get some celebrities to endorse them.

 Of course, they will demand a Bike Pride Parade. The silly Chicago politicians will participate, celebrating the UNIBITRI+ community. Those floats pulled by teams of cyclists will sure look great.

The cyclists are already winning. The city refuses to remove their illegal litter and blight, the ugly white bike memorials all over the city. They commemorate people who were killed while cycling. It is their only claim to fame.

Will the UNIBITRI+ Community attempt to cancel and deplatform anyone who disagrees or makes fun of them through humor? Will they claim humorists are punching down- whatever that means? Will they demand respect for their choice of transportation? “My bike, my choice.”

I used to be a cyclist until it got too dangerous. It was not cars or trucks I was worried about. The reckless cyclists almost caused me to crash because I followed the laws. I had to threaten one on the lakefront. I was riding with my daughter when she was young. We were too slow for his taste. He kept yelling at me. Cyclists cannot slow down. If they do, their cardio pump will drop, causing death or incapacitation, so they believe. I finally told him that if he kept ranting and raving, it would take a team of proctologists to remove his bike from his ass.

A terrorist cyclist almost injured my dog while speeding down the sidewalk in front of my home. I lost count of the times I was nearly struck by terrorist cyclists riding on sidewalks. The worst are those who try to navigate the crowded sidewalks downtown, yelling for people to get out of their way.

It is past time for a fair solution to the cyclist issue. If they keep demanding the city accommodate them, they should be held responsible and accountable for violating traffic laws. Cyclists should be cited for violations with steep fines. This would protect the public, including pedestrians, and protect cyclists from themselves. Since cyclists are considered vehicles by state law, the law giving them the right of way should be repealed. They should be treated like all vehicles.

The city could make a boatload of money citing cyclists for violations since a majority violate traffic laws. If a cyclist is injured or killed and the accident is deemed their fault, they should have no claim. Auto insurers should not pay claims to cyclists or their families if accident investigations find them at fault, and the courts should not find in their favor over lawsuits.

Of course, none of that will happen. The cyclists have an alphabet “community” now- UNIBITRI+. Communities, especially alphabet communities, give them a loud voice. The blissfully ignorant news media in Chicago slobbers and drools all over “communities.” The cowards who run this city are terrified of “communities.” So, the whiny crybaby terrorists will get whatever they want with no repercussions for their recklessness.

Welcome to Chicago and the new urban order.

If you’re going to Ch-ica-go
Wear a bulletproof vest on your chest
If you’re going to Chi-ca-go
You’re gonna meet some violent people there

For those who come to Ch-ica-go
Summertime will be a death-in there
In the streets of Chi-ca-go
Violent people with pistols in their hands

All across the city there is no sign of pity
Shooters in motion Shooters in motion
There’s a whole generation with a new explanation
We deal in lead. We make you dead.

If you come to Chi-ca-go
Summertime will be a death-in there

1967 was the Summer of Love. If you went to San Francisco, you wore flowers in your hair. 2022, according to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, will be the Summer of Joy.

If you come to Chicago, wear a bulletproof vest on your chest.

Like 2021, 2022 will be the Summer of Death. The weather is warm, and the guns are blazing. There are armed robberies, shootings, car-jackings, sexual assaults, and other violent crimes in every neighborhood in Chicago. The Els are not safe. Businesses are not safe.

There is no safe in Chicago.

Spring is turning into summer. The bodies will be piling up in the morgue. EMTs and trauma units will be overworked. Detective case files will thicken. People will be living in fear. Victims’ families will be living in grief.

There were two mass shootings Tuesday on the South Side. 125 people have been shot so far this month. 21 people were killed and 104 wounded. Year to date, 1003 people have been shot, 191 killed, and 812 wounded.

Over the past 28 months of supposed criminal justice and police reform, over 9000 people were shot. over 1800 were murdered, and over 4000 carjackings. During that time frame, 2000 police officers retired or quit. Those numbers shoot all those so-called reforms right in the keester.

Nothing is working in the public safety sector. Not one damn thing.

In another one of his failing plans and strategies, Chicago Police Superintendent, David “Tex” Brown, is canceling days off during the week leading to Memorial Day with the possibility of 12-hour days. It is another recipe for disaster, like all his plans, strategies, and deployments. Brown, besides being incompetent, destroyed the morale and esprit de corps of the rank-and-file police officers.

People in Lincoln Park voiced their concern at a meeting with police and an alderman Tuesday evening. A vicious execution-style robbery and shooting and other robberies in the area finally shook those people out of their privileged stupor.

Too many people in this city, including my neighborhood, are silent. If they are not victims, crime is not happening. The business community is silent. They may be privately scorching the mayor, but they should scorch her in public. They should demand better. Being a booster is fine, but how can you boost a city that is not safe? How can you promote downtown, Near North, and the other business or tourist areas if they are not safe?

Too many alderpeople are silent, especially in the wards most impacted by violence. How can you be silent when violent crimes happen in your own backyard? How can you be silent when your neighbors and constituents are suffering?

The Chicago News media is silent. There are no flaming editorials about the citywide violence or the incompetence in dealing with it. They abdicated their watchdog status long ago. No one is holding Lightfoot and her unfit police superintendent accountable. They just provide cover and PR for this administration.

Lightfoot wrecked Chicago. She disappointed those of us who supported and rallied around her. Lightfoot is not alone in tossing public safety aside. Machine Boss, Cook County Board President Tony Preckwinkle, runs the courts and the State’s Attorney’s Office. She is one of the main drivers of violence with her supposed criminal justice reforms. She just may as well be pulling the trigger.

2022 is shaping up to be the Summer of Death. The Summer of Violence. The Summer of Mourning. There will be no Ode to Joy. There will only be the sounds of gunshots and keening.

There is no joy in Chitown — Tiny Lightfoot has struck out.